Car coupling



March 8; 1927;

L. W. HIGGINS can COUPLING Filed July 21, 1926 amut I L.W gins I (7L I(lttozvwql Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

. UNITED STATES LEWIS W. HIGGINS, OF BULAN, KENTUCKY.

CAR COUPLING.

Application filed July 21,

My'invention is a coupling for mine cars and has for its object theprovision of a simple and inexpensive mechanism which may be easilyapplied to the cars and which will operate efficiently to preventseparation of the cars while readily accommodating itself to therelative angular positions of the cars as they pass around short turns.Other objects of the invention will appear incidentally in the course ofthe following description, and the invention resides in certain novelfeatures which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing and will behereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view, with parts in horizontal section, of myimproved coupling as it appears when in use;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudlnal section of the same;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the pin-engaging members removed from thecar, and

Fig. 4 is a central vertical transverse section of the coupling as itappears in use.

The mine cars may be of the usual or any approved construction andportions of the same are indicated at one in the drawing, each car beingequipped at its ends with a drawbar 2. The drawbar projects beyond theend of the car body and a bumper head 3 is secured to the car body belowthe end of the drawbar, as clearly shown in the drawing, so that the endof the drawbar will be prevented from dropping. A support l is securedto the ends of the bumper head 3,

and this is preferably a resilient U-shaped frame secured at its ends tothe bumper head 3 and projecting beyond the bumper head so that itfurnishes a support for the drawhead 5 to maintain the drawhead in alevel position at all times. The resiliency of this accommodatesvibration in the cars and variance in the heights of the coupled cars.The drawheads 5 at the opposite ends of the car are alike inconstruction and comprise a shank pivoted at its inner end, as shown at6, to the end of the drawbar and having its outer end laterallyenlarged, as shown at 7, to constitute "a coupling head having anopening 8 extending centrally therethrough. The coupling heads areprovided near their outer edges with vertical openings, indicated at 9,and through one of said openings is disposed a coupling pin 10 which iscarried by the inner end of a hand lever 11 fulcrumed between its endsupon a post 12 rising from 1926. Serial in. 124,038.

the coupling head adjacent the pin hole 9, as shown. It will be readilyseen that the weight of the coupling pin normally holds the outer end ofthe releasin lever 11 in raised position and the exertion of downwardpressure upon the lever will withdraw the coupling pin from the couplinghead so as to permit thecars to move apart. The mating coupling head hasa pivot pin 13 inserted through the openings 9 therein, and this pinserves to retain in the coupling head the grippers 14 which project fromthe said coupling head a suflicient distance to pass into the firstdescribed coupling head and lockingly engage the coupling pm 10. Therear ends of the grippers 14 extend rearwardly beyond the pivot 13, asshown at 15, and are connected by a coiled contractile spring 16 wherebythey are normally and yieldably held together whereby the outer or frontends of the grippers will be held in engagement with the coupling pin.It will be noted upon reference to Fig. 2 that when in use the grippersare supported by the opposed drawheads so that they will remain inoperative position. To limit the closing movement of the grippers, lugs17 are formed thereon at their outer edges, and these lugs projectupwardly from the lower gripper and downwardly from the upper gripper,as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, whereby the outer edges of therespective grippers will impinge against the respectively adjacent lugsand prevent the grippers coming into such intimate contact with thecoupling pin as will tend to break or bend the same while at the sametime the grippers will be permitted to engage the pin with sufficientforce to maintain the coupled relation of the cars. Upon reference toFigs. 1 and 3 more particularly, it will be noted that the inner opposededges of the grippers are formed on arcuate lines so that they willdiverge toward the outer front ends of the grippers and will presentinclined surfaces to the coupling pin as the cars come together wherebythe grippers will readily separate to pass around the pin, and, atproper points in their edges, notches 18 are formed therein to receivethe pin and engage it in such a manner that the cars will be heldtogether. It will be noted that the walls of these notches 18 passtransversely across and beyond the ad acent portions of the pin so thatthe draft will be positively applied through one car to the other carand will cooperate gether in an obvious manner.

As has been stated, the drawheads are pivotally mounted upon therespective drawbars. To maintain the couplings normally on the centrallongitudinal lines of the cars, contractile springs 19 are provided atboth sides of both couplings and these springs have their opposite endsattached respectively to the couplings and to the cars or the bumperheads adjacent the sides of the cars. The springs being of equalstrength will, of course, exert equal force on the two sides of thecouplings so that they will remain disposed centrally with respect tothe cars. At the same time, however, when the cars strike a curve, thecoupling heads will be permitted to swing pivotally so that the angularrelations of the cars will be accommodated and the heads will remaincoupled.

The apparatus is exceedingly simple in construction and arrangement andmay be readily applied to mine cars new in existence as well as to carswhich may be hereafter built Having thus described the invention, Iclaim:

1. A car coupling comprising a pair of coupling heads, a coupling pinmounted in one of said heads, a pair of cooperating grippers pivotedwithin the other coupling head and extending therefrom to project intothe first described coupling head and engage the coupling pin therein,and a contractile spring connecting the opposite ends of the grippers.

2. A car coupling comprising a pair of pivoted coupling heads, acoupling pin mounted in one head, a pivot pin mounted in the other head,a pair of grippers retained in the head by said pivot pin and disposedone above the other, the opposed edges of the grippers being constructedto engage closely around the coupling pin at both the front and the rearthereof, and means acting upon the rear ends of the grippers to holdthem normally in engagement with the coupling pin.

3. A car coupling comprising a pair of coupling heads, a coupling pinmounted in one head, a pair of grippers having a common pivotal supportin the other head, a yieldable connection between the rear ends of thegrippers holding the front ends of the same normally together, theopposed edges of the grippers being constructed with notches to fitaround the coupling pin and diverging forwardly beyond the notches, andstop lugs on the opposed faces of the grippers at the outer edgesthereof between the ends of the same to engage the opposed edges of therespective grippers.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LEWIS W. HIGGINS. L 3.

